Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season is here! Each year, tens of thousands of birders throughout the western hemisphere participate in a cooperative effort to count birds within established 15-mile diameter circles. CBCs depend on the efforts of multiple parties, with each individual or team checking different parts of the count circle, then combining their counts in a final total that can be compared to totals for the past 119 years. CBCs are an important and long-running endeavor that help us understand changes in bird populations.
Here are our tips for making eBird part of your CBC tradition.
At the end of a CBC, many eBirders traditionally used the “Summarize My Observations” tool to calculate the total number of individuals of each species they observed that day. It was necessary to retire this tool during our database migration. eBird developers are working on a replacement and we look forward to bringing you new ways to summarize your observations before the 2021-22 CBC season.
In the meantime, here are ways to summarize your CBC activity this year:
As a result of the ongoing global pandemic, new guidelines have been introduced and some local CBCs have been cancelled. Please continue to bird mindfully— respect participation guidelines and follow the instructions of your local health authorities (learn more about changes to the 2020 CBC season).
Here are some more useful links for eBird best practices and CBC resources: